Despite the hoopla surrounding the selection of six women to the Astronaut Corps in 1978, very few people know how that selection was made, what training was like, how women dealt with challenges, and how their lives unfolded. This book will describe the joys and sorrows, the trials and triumphs that I experienced as one of those women who became part of an all male world. I flew three shuttle missions, married and supported a fellow astronaut, and launched three children along the way.

There were six women in the first astronaut class that included females. Judy Resnik perished in the Challenger accident. Current astronauts are not allowed to publish books (Anna Fisher and Shannon Lucid). Sally Ride passed away in 2012. Kathy Sullivan may be writing her story, but she never married or had children and her career was quite different from mine. Several men have written about their experiences on the space shuttle and the international space station (Mike Mullane, Tom Jones, Jerry Linnenger, et cetera), but they speak from a male perspective.

I plan on dropping her a note saying I'm looking forward to her book — and that her husband should write one, too.

GoesTo11Member

Posts: 1180From: Denver, CO USARegistered: Jun 2004

posted 02-19-2013 11:26 PM
I really hope Dr. Seddon's book sees print and finds an audience. If I'm not mistaken, Sally Ride wrote a couple of books aimed at young readers, but it seems to me that there's been a large void in the history of the shuttle program left by the fact that none of the (living) TFNG women have chosen to write a serious, adult memoir.

herranzcMember

Posts: 16From: Madrid, SpainRegistered: Sep 2003

posted 02-20-2013 09:24 AM
Also, in her book proposal she has done her 'homework' by listing what she calls Competitive Titles in Print. A good starting point and guide to books about women in space.

Hopefully she can find someone to help represent her memoir (per a post on her website's homepage). I look forward to reading Rhea's book when it comes out!

onesmallstepMember

Posts: 752From: Staten Island, New York USARegistered: Nov 2007

posted 02-12-2014 03:07 PM
If she can sneak in a perspective or two from her husband 'Hoot' Gibson, it would be great to see how both balanced career and family all these years - and stay married to tell about it.

ColinBurgessMember

Posts: 1695From: Sydney, AustraliaRegistered: Sep 2003

posted 02-12-2014 03:33 PM
I did contact Dr. Seddon in September to ask if she might consider her memoir becoming a part of the Outward Odyssey series. In her friendly response she stated that she would consider all options including this when it came time to seek out a publisher.

astro-nutMember

Posts: 623From: washington, Illinois USARegistered: Jan 2006

posted 02-22-2014 09:18 AM
Hopefully this will become a book someday. It would be a great memoir to read and have in a collection.

Robert PearlmanEditor

Posts: 30831From: Houston, TXRegistered: Nov 1999

posted 10-04-2014 06:04 AM
According to Rhea Seddon's updated website, the new title of her book is "Go for Orbit: One of America's First Female Astronauts Finds Her Space," and it is "coming in 2015."

astro-nutMember

Posts: 623From: washington, Illinois USARegistered: Jan 2006

posted 11-01-2014 03:41 PM
Looking forward to this one! Gee, would Hoot do a forward for her in her book?